Abstract

GORDILLO-RUIZ, Mercedes Concepción  and  CASTILLO-SANTIAGO, Miguel Ángel. Land-use change in the Sabinal river watershed, Chiapas, Mexico. Ecosistemas y recur. agropecuarios [online]. 2017, vol.4, n.10, pp.39-49. ISSN 2007-901X.  https://doi.org/10.19136/era.a4n10.803.

In order to know the factors that promote land-cover changes in the Sabinal River watershed, Chiapas, the relationship between land-cover change maps and socioeconomic statistics is analyzed in this paper. Land-cover maps of 1992 and 2009 were prepared using high-resolution satellite images; also, socioeconomic data regarding land use were collected and analyzed. Comparison of the maps shows that the deforestation rate in this area is 0.5 %, which is lower than that reported in other tropical dry forest areas; the rural population remained similar to 1990 levels, but the urban population more than doubled. The average pasture area per farmer has doubled, but the average crop area has remained virtually unchanged since the rst study year, as farmers prefer extensive production systems. Due to the expansion of urban areas, agricultural lands have decreased in size and quality, since they have moved to hilly lands. High dependence on inputs from other regions was evident; staple food production in the watershed has remained at 1991 levels.

Keywords : Chiapas; landcover change; urbanization; deforestation; rural migration.

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